Native American Studies, Bachelor of Arts College of Letters & Science
Native American Studies provides a multi-disciplinary introduction to the indigenous cultures of North, Central, and South America. It challenges students to consider issues of cultural diversity, sovereignty, and indigenous knowledge systems in preparation for living in a world of constantly increasing social and cultural complexity.
The Program
Students electing a major in Native American Studies may complete Plan I, Plan II, or Plan III. Plan I enables students to concentrate chiefly upon the Native experience in North America (north of Mexico). Plan II encourages interested students to focus upon Meso-America with some course work integrating Meso-America with North America and South America. Plan III focuses upon South America with some course work integrating that region with areas to the north. See Undergraduate Major Requirements.
Major Advisor & Advising
All new and prospective Native American Studies majors are encouraged to see the Student Affairs Officer individually, once per year, at minimum. See Native American Studies Advising.
Career Alternatives
Native American Studies is excellent preparation for a scholarly career or professional career such as teaching, law, human services, health, tribal administration, social work, and inter-ethnic relations. Graduate schools and agencies in these and related areas are looking for students with broad interdisciplinary preparation and who possess knowledge and sensitivity relating to ethnic issues and cultural diversity.
Study Off Campus
Majors have the option of spending one to three quarters elsewhere in the Americas or on or near a reservation as part of the fulfillment of the Area of Specialization. Each student’s plan must be approved by the student’s advisor and by the chairperson and may fulfill from 12 to 20 of the 28 units required for the emphasis. The courses or field internship taken elsewhere must be focused upon indigenous peoples or indigenous languages and the institution of study shall be located in an area with substantial indigenous population. Students must have upper division standing and, for Plan I, course 107 or the equivalent should have been completed; for Plan II, courses 107 and 133 should have been completed; and for Plan III, courses 107 and 120 should have been completed prior to departure. Several options may be used for receiving academic credit, including course 195. The department strongly encourages students to participate in the UC Education Abroad Program or Short-Term Programs Abroad.
Graduate Study
The Department offers a program of study leading to M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Native American Studies, as well as a designated emphasis in Native American Studies for graduate students in approved programs. Further information regarding graduate study may be obtained at the Department office and at Graduate Studies.
Graduates Advisor
The major requirements below are in addition to meeting University Degree Requirements & College Degree Requirements; unless otherwise noted. The minimum number of units required for the Native American Studies Bachelor of Arts is 59.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Preparatory Subject Matter | ||
| Native American Studies | ||
| NAS 001 | Introduction to Native American Studies | 4 |
| NAS 010 | Native American Experience | 4 |
| or NAS 012 | Native American/Indigenous Film | |
| Choose one or two: | 4-8 | |
| Introduction to Native American Literature | ||
| Native American/Indigenous Film | ||
| Native American Music & Dance | ||
| Introduction to Native American Art | ||
| Native American Art Studio | ||
| Choose one or two: | 3-8 | |
| Introduction to African Studies | ||
| African Traditional Religion | ||
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Comparative Cultures | ||
| Ancient Crops & People | ||
| Historical Experience of Asian Americans | ||
| Contemporary Issues of Asian Americans | ||
| Asian American Cultural Studies | ||
| Introduction to Chicana/o Studies | ||
| Chicana/o & Latina/o Health Care Issues | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Ethnic Minority Writers in World Literature | ||
| Current Issues in the Environment | ||
| History of Latin America to 1700 | ||
| History of Latin America, 1700-1900 | ||
| History of Latin America 1900-present | ||
| History of the United States | ||
| Introduction to Linguistics | ||
or LIN 001Y | Introduction to Linguistics | |
| Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal | 15-24 | |
| Depth Subject Matter | ||
| Native American Studies | ||
| NAS 157 | Native American Religion & Philosophy | 4 |
| Choose one: | 4 | |
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| NAS 180 | Native American Women | 4 |
| or NAS 135 | Gender Construction in Native Societies | |
| Choose three: | 12 | |
| Contemporary Native American Art | ||
| Learning Native American Languages | ||
| Indigenous Languages of California | ||
| Native Americans in the Contemporary World | ||
| Introduction to Federal Indian Law | ||
| Native American Community Development | ||
| Performance & Culture Among Native Americans | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Ethnohistory of Native Peoples of Mexico & Central America to 1500 | ||
| Ethnohistory of Native Peoples of Mexico & Central America 1500 to 2000 | ||
| Gender Construction in Native Societies | ||
| Orientation to Research in Native American Studies | ||
| California Indian Environmental Policy I | ||
| California Indian Environmental Policy II | ||
| Native American Women | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Contemporary Native American Poetry | ||
| Native American Literature in Performance | ||
| Special Topics in Native American Literary Studies | ||
| Topics in Native American Studies | ||
| Note: If a course is counted for either Plans I, II, or III (below), it cannot also be counted as part of the 24 units of Depth Subject Matter (above). | ||
| Depth Subject Matter Subtotal | 24 | |
| Areas of Specialization | ||
| Complete one plan: | 20-21 | |
| Areas of Specialization Subtotal | 20-21 | |
| Total Units | 59-69 | |
Plan I—North American Emphasis
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Native American Studies | ||
| NAS 107 | Learning Native American Languages | 4 |
| or NAS 108 | Indigenous Languages of California | |
| Choose two: | 8 | |
| Contemporary Native American Art | ||
| Native Americans in the Contemporary World | ||
| Introduction to Federal Indian Law | ||
| Native American Community Development | ||
| Performance & Culture Among Native Americans | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Native American Ethno-Historical Development | ||
| Gender Construction in Native Societies | ||
| Orientation to Research in Native American Studies | ||
| California Indian Environmental Policy I | ||
| California Indian Environmental Policy II | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Contemporary Native American Poetry | ||
| Native American Literature in Performance | ||
| Special Topics in Native American Literary Studies | ||
| Topics in Native American Studies | ||
| Choose one: | 4 | |
| Methods in American Studies | ||
| Indigenous Peoples & Natural Resource Conservation | ||
| Ethnographic Film | ||
| New World Prehistory: The First Arrivals | ||
| Andean Prehistory: Archaeology of the Incas & Their Ancestors | ||
| California Archaeology | ||
| Survey of Ethnicity in the US | ||
| African Descent Communities & Culture in North America | ||
| Black Intellectuals | ||
| Major Voices in Black World Literature | ||
| African Literature | ||
| African Religions in the Americas | ||
| Diaspora & New Black Identities | ||
| The Politics of Resources | ||
| Hip Hop in Urban America | ||
| Theoretical Perspective in Asian American Studies | ||
| Asian American Women | ||
| Multiracial Asian Pacific American Issues | ||
| Asian American Performance | ||
| Chicana/o Theoretical Perspective | ||
| Sociology of the Chicana/o Experience | ||
| Interracial Interpersonal Dynamics | ||
| Women, "Race" & Sexuality in Postcolonial Cinema | ||
| Feminist Film Theory & Criticism | ||
| Queer Studies | ||
| Women of Color Writing in the United States | ||
| Globalization, Gender & Culture | ||
| One other upper division Native American Studies course, selected in consultation with advisor. | 4 | |
| Total Units | 20 | |
Plan II—Mexico-Central America Emphasis
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Native American Studies | ||
| NAS 107 | Learning Native American Languages | 4 |
| NAS 133 | Ethnohistory of Native People of Mexico & Central America | 4 |
| or NAS 133B | Ethnohistory of Native Peoples of Mexico & Central America 1500 to 2000 | |
| Choose two: | 8-9 | |
| Methods in American Studies | ||
| Colonialism & the Making of the Modern World | ||
| Spain & America in the 16th Century | ||
| Latin American Social Revolutions | ||
| History of Mexico to 1848 | ||
| History of Mexico since 1848 | ||
| African Descent Communities & Culture in the Caribbean & Latin America | ||
| Race & Ethnicity in Latin America | ||
| Contemporary Societies & Cultures of Latin America | ||
| Chicanas/Mexicanas in Contemporary Society | ||
| Globalization, Transnational Migration, & Chicana/o & Latina/o Communities | ||
| Latino Families in the Age of Globalization: Migration & Transculturation | ||
| United States-Mexican Border Relations | ||
| Transnational Latina/o Political Economy | ||
| Indigenous Healing & Biodiversity in Latin America | ||
| Native American Community Development | ||
| Ethnohistory of Native Peoples of Mexico & Central America to 1500 | ||
| Contemporary Indigenous Literature of Mexico | ||
| Native American Literature in Performance | ||
| Mexican Politics | ||
| California & Latin America | ||
| Choose one: | 4 | |
| Arts of the Ancient New World | ||
| Native American Literature | ||
| Contemporary Native American Poetry | ||
If student's work is specifically focused upon a Meso-American language or topic, choose: | ||
| Special Topics in Native American Literary Studies | ||
| Topics in Native American Studies | ||
| Total Units | 20-21 | |
Plan III—South American Emphasis
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Native American Studies | ||
| Choose two: | 8 | |
| Learning Native American Languages | ||
| Quechua Language & Society: Beginning Level 1 | ||
| Quechua Language & Society: Beginning Level 2 | ||
| Quechua Language & Society: Intermediate Level 1 | ||
| Quechua Language & Society: Intermediate Level 2 | ||
| Ethnopolitics of South American Indians | ||
| Choose two: | 8 | |
| African Descent Communities & Culture in the Caribbean & Latin America | ||
| African-American Dance & Culture in the United States, Brazil & the Caribbean | ||
| African Religions in the Americas | ||
| Race & Ethnicity in Latin America | ||
| Indigenous Peoples & Natural Resource Conservation | ||
| Contemporary Societies & Cultures of Latin America | ||
| Andean Prehistory: Archaeology of the Incas & Their Ancestors | ||
| History of the Andean Region | ||
| Latin American Social Revolutions | ||
| Latin American Politics | ||
| The Political Economy of International Migration | ||
| Introduction to Latin American Culture | ||
| Introduction to Latin American Culture | ||
| Music from Latin America | ||
| Music from Latin America | ||
| Choose one: | 4 | |
| History of Brazil | ||
| History of Chile | ||
| Modern Latin American Cultural & Intellectual History | ||
| Latin American Politics | ||
| Total Units | 20 | |